


Area One

by NaurielWeasley



Category: EXO (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Climate Change, Cuddling, Fantasy, Fighting, Homophobia, Insecurity, M/M, OT12 (EXO), Panic Attacks, Politics, Red Force (EXO), Sarcasm, Science, Self-Doubt, Superpowers, Torture, Trauma, Tree of Life, Trust, Yoongi achieves his dream
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:21:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29858715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaurielWeasley/pseuds/NaurielWeasley
Summary: For years there have been rumors about the Red Force experimenting on people with superpowers. Most people don't believe these stories. Aren't superpowers a really childish idea? The Red Force just likes to keep the villages in check by increasing the people's fear. Right?At least that is what Junmyeon used to think before his best friend got in danger because of these stories and before he himself lashed out and nearly drowned his family and neighbors. Having discovered that the rumors are true and not eager to find out how the Red Force would react if their spies told them about his and Sehun's powers, they flee. They soon discover that they are not the only ones with powers and that there is a reason why these things happened. Not only have they received these powers, there is a mission that comes with them.Will they be able to fulfill their task and stand up to the Red Force? How will they cope when things go terribly wrong? And what if... what if the Red Force is by far not the biggest problem they will have to overcome?
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Lu Han
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

Junmyeon turned around to look back while forcing himself to keep running, nearly tripping over his own feet. He must have been keeping the same pace for hours now, but the feeling of being followed didn't want to leave him.

He felt close to dying of exhaustion, but he had to keep going. He never wanted to return. Why should he even bother to think of it? They called him a monster anyway.

Of course, he knew why. The Red Force loved experimenting on people like him, or at least that was what everyone said about them. No one had ever found out why they would experiment on certain people as if there was something special to them. No one had believed the myths that were spreading through the villages like lethal diseases.

Now he did.

But the only thing occupying his mind now was the thought of finding his best friend. _Find Sehun_.

That was way more difficult than he had expected at first. Sehun’s parents could have abandoned him outside of the desert, near a village he could find with a little luck. That would have been bad enough already. Instead, he had been left alone in the middle of the desert, without any help for orientation whatsoever. Junmyeon had been shocked beyond limits hearing what they had done. He should have been more careful, though. Losing control like this was definitely not something anyone would have expected of him, he himself wouldn't have. All the anger, all the frustration he had been holding onto during all those years had lashed out at once and he hadn't been surprised by their faces. None of them.

At first, they had seemed like they couldn't believe their own eyes. It had taken them a few moments to process what had happened and to turn on him. Their gazes, stares all turning into a fierce, wicked glare he had never seen before and didn't ever want to see again. As if the water from the well had washed away every hint of familiarity, affection. He had known each and everyone of them for all of his life, they were his neighbours, his friends, his family. Everything, every memory, every feeling, erased from one second to another.

They didn't know him anymore. They boy they saw now was a monster, an abomination, a threat. If the Red Force found out about him, they would all be dead. Better turn him in directly, claiming they found him in the streets, fooling around with the rain water.

_Threat._

_Monster._

He didn't look back anymore. He fixed his eyes on the horizon, eyes squinted together, silently begging for his friend to stay strong.

_I'm coming, Sehunnie. Stay where you are, I will find you, I swear. Everything will be okay._

As he was running, the sun seemed to burn hotter and hotter on his skin. The trees and green meadows had long passed and he was met with crumbling, sandy earth and dry plants here and there. Shutting out all the thoughts that kept threatening and invading his mind, he concentrated on two words. Find Sehun. _Find. Sehun._

After what felt like ages, Junmyeon was able to make out a dark, small figure, lying on the ground as though he were dead. He opened his mouth to shout his name, but no sound left his lips. He instead accelerated his steps until he finally arrived, threw himself down next to his best friend and grabbed his shoulder, shaking it violently while sobs started leaving his mouth.

"Sehun!" he whispered, trying to stay calm and wake the boy up. His brown, short hair and his clothes were stained with sweat and sand and, most likely, tears.

This would not lead to anything. What could he do? It was hard to concentrate, to find a different solution from the one that was lingering in his mind.

This was not the moment to be scared of consequences. Junmyeon shut his eyes and pressed his hands on the ground.

After a few attempts, he was so frustrated and felt so helpless he was nearly ready to give up. He looked at Sehun's body, trying to evoke the feeling he had experienced earlier this day. All this anger, the frustration, the feeling of helplessness...

The earth cracked, and a very small, thin fountain of water made its way to the top. Allowing himself a hopeful smile, the boy held out his hands and splashed some of it on his friends' face, collecting new water to make him drink it.

He nearly screamed in joy when Sehun groaned and moved his head a few millimetres to avoid the water.

"Sehun! Hey, do you hear me?" he asked, preventing his voice from trembling. The other boy slowly opened his eyes, staring at Junmyeon with a confused frown on his face.

"How did you get here, Hyung?" Sehun asked with a hoarse voice, too exhausted to move. Shortly after he had finished the question, he tried to glance behind his friend. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

Junmyeon tried to think of something to say that wouldn't confront him with the harsh truth so shortly after he had woken up. However, before he was even able to form a sentence, Sehun's expression fell. Junmyeon's heart dropped. "I remember."

Sehun didn't have to say more. Not knowing what to reply, Junmyeon just sat there, cleaning his younger friend's face with the help of his water. The fountain had stopped and most of the remaining water had already disappeared. Junmyeon tried his best to help Sehun up.

"I know you're tired, but we need to get away from here as quickly as possible," mumbled Junmyeon, placing Sehun's arm around his neck to support him.

Like this, the boys went on their way, stumbling and falling from time to time, without a destination other than the thought that lingered in both of their minds: _As far away from_ there _as possible._


	2. Chapter 2

'Who on earth had the genius idea to invent rocks?'

Luhan was running as fast as he could, his arms stretched out, stumbling every few steps. The sound of his own, racing heartbeat nearly drowned out the screams and fighting noises behind him.

'Run, as fast as you can!' his father had told him. He should have known Luhan would not be able to get far.

A muffled cry on his lips, the boy fell again.

Of what use was it, anyway? They would beat his father, they would find Luhan and it would not take them long to be able to use the stupid Tree for whatever kind of sick experiments it was necessary.

It was not until he heard a blood-curling scream that he turned around towards the direction he had just come from. He knew who the voice belonged to. He knew it, and he knew he was too weak to even attempt to help him.

Cursing, Luhan made his way back to the fighting scene. He would get himself killed before being able to do as much as shout his father's name. He doubted he would be worth being taken away as an experiment. He was useless.

"No! Leave him alone!" His father's voice again. They must have noticed him. It took them one single shot to take him down.

Luhan was ready for the burning pain of the bullet, however, the pain in his leg subsided after a few seconds. Feeling his face reddening with rage, he realized they must have thrown a pebble at him instead of shooting. Luhan didn't even bother to stand up again, burning with humiliation and hate.

"Let him go!" he shouted desperately.

All he got as a response was laughter. He had always imagined the soldiers of the Red Force to be brainwashed, soulless creatures. As it turned out, they were cruel, sadistic men who enjoyed nothing more than mocking a boy for his helplessness while making him listen to his own father's pained screams.

More stones. Insults. Nothing he wasn't used to already. However, until now, he had always been able to escape and never before had his life been endangered like this.

"Are you sure it's a boy?" asked one of them while stepping on Luhan's injured leg, making the boy scream in a higher tone. More laughter.

"I don't know, are you?" another one asked Luhan, one of the men at his father's side.

"He asked you something, brat!" the first soldier said. Luhan didn't answer.

"You're not deaf as well, are you?" Another round of laughter erupted.

"I'm curious," another one said and his shadow fell over Luhan when he knelt down to look at his face, "was it an accident or have you been a freak since birth?"

Feeling cold rage overwhelming him, Luhan let his head crash forward into the shadow that had covered his face. Proudly, he noticed he had hit the other's nose, probably broken it, according to his wailing.

"You bastard!" A fist came in contact with Luhan's cheek, knocking him from his sitting position to the ground. Someone stepped on his hand, and he screamed in agony.

The following minutes were a blur. The blow to his head seemed to have been stronger than what he had expected. They were hurting him, but he wasn't able to distinguish their voices anymore and his father's shouting, although he knew it had become louder, started fading as well.

Luhan's breathing quickened even more, he was in sheer panic. Was being blind not enough, did he have to lose his hearing now as well? The desperation and the rage, his fear and frustration that had been building up inside him had reached their peak, driving him to the point where he thought he might explode every moment.

In the exact same second, he suddenly noticed an even more strange feeling overcoming him. He had never felt like this before, he didn't even know whether it was a good or a bad feeling. He just felt as if all of his anger, all the hate had been let loose at once.

Only a split second afterwards, his head was clear again, and it was as if the soldiers had vanished. His hopes were shattered when he heard them shout, even though it seemed like they were panicking.

"Was it the boy? Did he do that?" a frightened man asked.

"Let's get away from here!" Luhan couldn't distinguish their voices, however, he noticed there was one missing.

"Father?" Luhan's own voice sounded far less manly than he had intended, but for the first time, he didn't care.

"What do we do with the guy? And the boy?"

"This guy is unconscious, let's take him with us!"

"And the brat?" He felt steps coming towards him, then stopping immediately.

"Wh- What is it doing?" Luhan didn't understand what they were talking about. Why were they so frightened?

"This is the boy's doing! We've got his father, let's go back!" No!

"Father!" Luhan screamed at the top of his lungs, but it was already too late. Their steps became faint very fast and soon, Luhan was left alone.

Not quite able to grasp the situation, he tried to collect himself. He needed to find out where he was. He had lost his stick long ago, but he wasn’t able to walk anyways. Slowly, and in pain, he crawled towards the location he suspected the Tree to be at. The Tree was the only "It" in proximity that could have frightened the soldiers to this extent.

He was right. As soon as he had reached the plant that had caused all of this chaos, he laid a hand on its stem, startling at the heat the Tree was radiating. His father had always told him that the Tree was special, and that was why they had to guard it, but he had never told Luhan why. Luhan hadn't been able to understand why a plain tree would be special. It had always occurred to him as, well, as a tree like any other. Until today.

Shivering, Luhan laid down between the roots, curling up his body, the warmth somehow soothing him in his pain. Soon, with no one around who might be able to hear him, he started crying.


	3. Chapter 3

Luhan felt them approaching before he was able to hear them. Whatever kind of power it was that he had received from the Tree, it was undeniably useful.

A few days had passed since his father's disappearance, and he hadn't heard word of him ever since. Luhan had cried, screamed, but ultimately realized he behaved like a little child. Whining wouldn't bring him back.

He had always been able to rely on his father whenever he needed help. His father had been the only one who had treated him like a normal person. Now it was not only his parent he was missing, it was his only friend, the only person who had protected him from the others.

He had always considered himself lucky for not living right inside the village, but a few minutes further away. No one ever visited, the two of them were outsiders. On purpose.

His father had always told him to keep the Tree a secret. Luhan hadn’t even understood why he should talk about a stupid tree. He had other problems, and, aside from this, even when they were in the village everyone ignored Luhan. If he was lucky. He had no one to tell anything to. People tended to see him as a bad omen. Everyone was surprised whenever they saw him, as if they hadn't expected him to survive another few weeks. It wasn't like he had some contagious disease.

He couldn't blame them, though. The way the Red Force Patrol had treated him had made him realize how worthless he was in this world. He hadn't been able to protect the Tree, he hadn't been able to save his own father. He had needed the help of the tree that had always seemed like nothing special. A plant had been more helpful in a fight than him.

He shook his head to get rid of the thoughts that kept coming back, taking over his mind until he wasn't able to think of anything else. There were people who were coming closer, maybe two or three. He couldn't explain how the experience with the Tree had changed his way of sensing things, it was just... He just _felt_ some things around him. And sometimes, he felt as if he was able to move them just with his mind, but he didn't trust the Tree far enough to believe that. Maybe it just wanted to play with his mind. It wouldn't surprise him.

"Maybe we can stay here for the night!"

Sehun got all excited, until they both noticed a frail figure walking towards them.

Junmyeon's heart dropped. He was tired of being chased away.

When the person came closer, he noticed that it was a boy, approximately around their age, maybe a bit younger. He was not very tall and quite skinny, but even for that appearance his steps seemed strangely insecure. He was supporting himself with a walking stick. As Junmyeon was observing the boy, he noticed the faint murmur of a small stream that was flowing somewhere near them. 

The boys waited for him to come close, not wanting to appear as a threat.

Upon seeing his face closely, it was not what Junmyeon had expected. He wore a grim and somewhat determined expression, but his eyes were swollen and red, as if he had been crying.

"Wherever you wanted to go, you've probably lost your way."

His voice didn't sound anything like the fragile boy Junmyeon had expected either. He had his arms crossed.

"We didn't lose it because we didn't have one in the first place," Junmyeon explained carefully. "We were just hoping to find a place to stay and maybe some food-"

"If you're running from the Red Force, staying here wouldn't be wise," the boy interrupted, a new tone in his voice... was it fear?

"We don't have anything to do with the Red Force," Junmyeon defended himself, raising the hand that wasn’t holding onto Sehun rising to visualize they were no risk for the boy.

Junmyeon doubted the Red Force would go after them, considering his parents and the others knew nothing good would happen if the Patrol heard they had let them go. The Red Force most likely didn't even know he and Sehun existed.

"If you don't want us to sleep in your house, it's okay." Sehun raised his head, his voice so weak it hurt, "a bit of food would be enough-"

"If the Red Force isn't after you, why are you running in the first place?" the boy interrupted again.

Junmyeon felt his anger rising. He knew it wasn't wise to trust strangers, especially if they outnumbered you, but there was no need for the boy to be this rude. Couldn't he see the state both of them were in?

His hands balled into fists as he was trying to restrain himself. He had tried to control his power, but he kept making mistakes when he was frustrated or angry. If the boy witnessed him controlling water, he would chase them away.

However, the more he tried to calm down, the more this weird feeling inside of him gained strength. Too late, he remembered the stream he had noticed earlier. He felt the water in the stream accelerating its pace, not yet noticeable for others.

Or so he thought. As soon as the stream quickened its pace, the boy tensed and looked directly at them, maybe for the first time. Junmyeon noticed his eyes never stayed still. It was quite unsettling and not too polite either.

"Are you doing this?" the boy asked, his voice breaking.

Junmyeon tensed. He had to have awfully good hearing to catch onto this small change. Or did he maybe...

"I'm sorry," Junmyeon quickly assured the boy, not wanting to scare him. "I won't hurt you; I promise. I don't know what this is either."

"But do you see now why we need to hide from the... from _them_?" Sehun had been standing still for the past few minutes, seemingly uncomfortable with the boy's aura as well. Sehun obviously hadn’t seen what Junmyeon had done for Luhan to react like this, but it wasn't hard to guess.

Junmyeon groaned with frustration. Nobody would take them in if they knew about their powers, unless they were suicidal.

The boy, however, seemed to be thinking about it for the first time. His eyes were fixed on the ground between them.

"When did you get this power?" he suddenly asked, a hint of curiosity in his expression for the first time.

Not seeing the point in lying, as it was already too late anyway, Junmyeon answered: "Only a few days ago. My friend noticed he's able to control the wind around the same time as well." He felt Sehun stiffen at the sudden memory and immediately felt sorry towards him.

But the boy nodded. "You can stay." he said, his emotions hidden again. Before the two had time to thank him, he added: "But I've got a few conditions."

Junmyeon felt so thankful towards the boy he didn't even think when he answered. "Of course. Just name them."

"First: as long as you stay, you will regularly go to the village to buy food."

Having met the people in the village shortly before, Junmyeon understood why he wouldn't want to go there himself. He nodded. However, the boy still seemed to be waiting for him to answer. Slightly irritated, he did so. "Alright. We will."

"Second: You will tell me everything about your powers and how you got them."

Junmyeon hesitated. What did he want to do with this information?

"Why?" he asked carefully. He was clueless as to why the boy was so willing to take them in after he heard about their powers. Everyone else would have chased them away long ago. "Why are you so curious about them?"

"We can talk about this inside." The skinny boy turned his head carefully, as if expecting someone to be spying on them. Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and walked towards the small house he lived in.

Junmyeon and Sehun turned around to face each other.

"Do you think we can trust him?" Sehun muttered under his breath. "He doesn't seem to be a nice person."

"I know," Junmyeon answered. "But he seems to know something. And he is the first person to allow us to stay. I'm afraid we don't have many other choices."

Sehun nodded and started following the boy with insecure steps, when Junmyeon grabbed his arm. Sehun turned around curiously.

"Let's tell him what we know, but still be careful around him, okay? He doesn't seem to be dangerous, but he could still sell us to the Red Force."

Sehun nodded and the two friends followed the boy who was already waiting in front of his house impatiently.

"I'm Luhan, by the way." The boy led them inside, into a small guest room that looked as if it had never been used before.

"My name is Junmyeon, and that's Sehun," Junmyeon answered quickly, glad the boy seemed to be a bit more open now that he knew about their powers.

Luhan nodded. "There should be some blankets around here, you might find them in the wardrobe. I'll go see if I have something to eat for you."

The two didn't answer as Luhan exited the room, his fingertips brushing against the door frame.

Sehun looked at Junmyeon. He was sitting on one of the two beds, his hand clutching the blanket that had been lying on it ever since they had entered the room.

"He's not too observing, is he, Hyung?" he asked with a nervous chuckle.

Junmyeon raised his eyebrows. "He was able to hear the stream nearby accelerating its flow just a few seconds after I had noticed it."

"What stream are you talking about?" Sehun raised his head in confusion. Junmyeon chuckled, but turned serious again soon.

"Maybe he has some kind of power that makes him hear better," he mused. "Or maybe..."

He didn't continue. He remembered how rude the boy had seemed for not even looking at them when they were talking. How could someone this rude and confident walk as if he feared to fall every other second? And he hadn't seen the blankets...

"Maybe he's blind," Junmyeon stated hesitantly. Sehun, who had laid down on his bed in the meanwhile, shot up again.

"He's _what_?"

"Blind, you know, that's when someone can't see." Junmyeon grew annoyed. Sehun huffed.

"Don't treat me like a child, I know what it means to be blind. But he's all alone out here, how could he have survived on his own? And earlier, he didn't seem like he couldn't see to me."

"Maybe he doesn't live alone?" Junmyeon guessed. "And what if he does have a power that helps him?"

"But, even if he had something like that, how does he survive? What does he do if the Red Force comes here?"

"I didn't live alone." The two boys shot up at the sight of Luhan standing in the door frame, a small tray with food in his hands. "And the Red Force did come here a few days ago."

At this, Junmyeon felt his anger rise again. "Why didn't you tell us? Will they come back? Why didn't they take you with them?"

Blind or not, the boy's glare made Junmyeon shiver. No one said anything for a while. Then, with a sigh that sounded more like that of an injured animal than that of a boy who had been staring them into the ground just seconds ago, Luhan slid down until he sat on the ground, leaning against the wall a few steps away from them. He pushed the tray towards Sehun, who quickly stood, picked it up and sat on Junmyeon's bed with the food between them. They thanked him and started wolfing it down while Luhan started talking.

"Let's do it like this. You promised me to tell you how you got your powers. Do that and I will tell you what happened."

Junmyeon reluctantly looked at Sehun. The younger boy just shrugged while happily munching on a piece of bread. Now that they were already here, they could just as well exchange their stories and maybe find something out about their powers.

He sat up straight, while Sehun was still eating, and started telling their story to Luhan.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey, Kris!"

Yifan turned around and was met with the smiling face of his best friend, signalling for him to come over. He shrugged and walked towards the other boy, who was impatiently waiting for him.

"I found something, follow me!" Jinho whispered breathlessly, blushing in anticipation. Yifan rolled his eyes.

"If it's another 'abandoned' bear cave, I decline, thank you."

Jinho violently shook his head and tugged at Yifan's arm. "Just trust me, it's worth it!"

He dashed off without another word, leaving a dumbfounded Yifan behind. However, his curiosity won and he followed Jinho through half of their village to an abandoned house. Yifan hesitated.

He knew this house. Only from the outside, as, until a few months ago, a father with his daughter had lived here. They had done nothing wrong, still, the last Red Force Patrol had arrested both of them, claiming they were conspiring against the authorities. No one had ever heard of them again.

Yifan scoffed. The Red Force had always been the thing that came closest to a 'government'... If you could call abducting and torturing people to make sure the rest of the population behaved governing. The Red Force had weapons, the people didn't. The Red Force had the right to do anything they wanted; the people didn't have any at all. As easy as that. However, this had been the first time they had called themselves the 'authorities' and arrested innocent people openly.

They were becoming bolder and crueler with every single day and no one was able to stop them. It was only legends and myths the people trusted to be able to save them now. But Yifan didn't believe in the stories everyone told each other at the fireplace. He was searching for a way to stop them... and was failing ridiculously.

"You coming now, or what?" Jinho asked impatiently. He was standing in the door and looked at him, cocking an eyebrow and tapping his foot.

Wordlessly, Yifan nodded and made his way into the house, staying closely behind Jinho. He knew his older friend loved to sneak away and try to frighten him. It had never worked, but he was still trying nonetheless.

Jinho led him through the dusty house, up to the attic. He pushed up the lid of the trap door and vanished. Yifan struggled to fit his broad shoulders through the small door, but with the help of his friend, he made it and laid down on the floor, exhaling with relief.

"So," Yifan mused, eyes wandering around the attic, "what are we here fo-" He stocked. At the far back of the attic, there was a window. It wasn't just a small window, though. The house was built right at the end of the village, making it possible to see what happened miles away from the window that was taking over most of the backside of the roof.

Yifan walked towards the back, resisting the urge to rub his eyes, and laid his hands on the glass. It was dirty to the point where you could only see through a few tiny openings, but it was the most beautiful thing Yifan had ever seen. They would be able to see the Red Force advancing far earlier than before, giving them the time to prepare themselves.

"And have a look at this!" Jinho requested, pointing at a box right next to him. Every sign of boredom gone, Yifan opened the box. Inside was a pair of binoculars, together with a long gun, a stack of paper and a knife. He could only stare at the things he saw before him, not quite able to understand. Binoculars were really rare; he hadn't seen many and not many people possessed them. He had seen kitchen knives, of course, but this one had undoubtedly been made for another purpose. And the gun. The Red Force obviously hadn’t searched the whole house when they had arrested its owner. Possessing weapons like those was strictly forbidden and they made sure everyone obeyed this rule.

Jinho eyed him with curiosity as Yifan stretched out his hand and reached for the gun. He didn't take it, though. He just travelled along the cold metal with his fingers, still unable to believe his own eyes. Slowly, he turned around to Jinho, who was just standing there, hands in his pockets.

"How did you find this?" he asked incredulously, trying to prevent his hands from shaking. Jinho shrugged.

"I was wondering whether I could find a clue, you know... why they took that old man and his daughter. I guess he was a member of a resistance or something."

There had always been people who wanted to rebel against the Red Force and tried to form alliances, but the regime always made sure the communication between the villages was observed. They weren't able to form one single resistance, but had to fight in their small groups, which made it really easy to defeat them.

"This is perfect! Look at this, Jinho!" Yifan excitedly gestured to the window. "We can see them coming, we can fight them..."

"-and we can be extinguished completely." Jinho interrupted, making Yifan close his mouth. "Look, you defeat a patrol, they come back with an army. What good will it be?"

"By the time they understand what happened and send an army, we will have already contacted a few other villages to help us! We can't always live like _this_ , Jinho, you know that!"

His friend just sighed. His eyes kept observing Yifan, as if he were waiting for something else.

"Look," Jinho began, "you know I support you as much as I can, but you can't just lead us into a resistance fight against the Red Force. Most of us just want to live quietly and do their best not to be noticed. You might not even be able to convince your own village to fight, let alone others."

Yifan knew Jinho was right, but he was so energized from this discovery, so determined to do at least _something_ against their helplessness. He felt waves of frustration and anger crushing over him, taking him with them and whirling him around, making him a puppet in their game. There was no feeling he hated more in this life, and he was not ready to give in. Never.

"And you suggest to do what?" asked Yifan, trying to get a hold of his anger, his inner thoughts unwillingly escaping for a second. "Surrender to your friends and beg them for mercy?"

Jinho looked at him, his eyes full with shock. "Friends? Come on, just because I don't want you to die-"

"-I saw you," Yifan said coldly, making his friend freeze. "You met up with this guy in red and white clothes. It was night and I was taking a walk because I couldn't sleep, I don't think anyone else saw you. What is your business with the Red Force, Jinho?"

His fists balled, he was waiting for an answer from his friend, who just stood there, completely surprised by the turn of events.

"I told you I was curious about the guy who lived here and his resistance-"

"- and you let a Red Force member tell you?" Yifan was nearly shouting now, not accepting ridiculous excuses. "Did you truly ask about him or did you just receive your payment for betraying him? If it's true he was in the resistance, who told on him?"

"We can't win against them!" Jinho had raised his voice as well. "If I hadn't done that, they would have burned down the whole village as soon as they found out!" He made a few quick steps and stood directly in front of Yifan, having to look up a bit.  
"It was either him or us," he mumbled, grabbing onto Yifan’s arm, looking him in the eye with a glare he had never seen before. "This guy was arrested, along with his daughter, in a house with a weapon like this, being able to see them coming from afar, and he didn't oppose. He knew he didn't stand a chance."

Yifan could no longer hold himself back. He punched Jinho, right on the nose. The boy stumbled backwards, but was able to regain his composure. He smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" Yifan snapped. He couldn't believe it. He had just punched his best friend, the guy he had known since forever, and the guy... smiled.

"That was a good one, Kris," he taunted, his nickname for Yifan sounding like an insult right now. "Why don't you join us? We could use a determined fighter like you, that's what I've been telling them since I met you."

Yifan felt as if someone had hit him with the gun in the box. "You... what?"

"They aren't as bad as you think, you know? Their main focus lies on research, they don't care about the people that much. You can come with me and they will put you in charge of taking care of the people. How's that sound?"

"Taking care... in which kind of way?" Yifan asked, his voice trembling. "Arresting people for speaking their minds? Torturing them for trying to fight an organisation I hate myself?" Jinho chuckled.

"You're special, Kris. As soon as your beloved people find out, they will hate you, call you a monster and turn their backs on you. Every single person you know would sell you to the Red Force to save themselves. If I were you, I wouldn't make both sides my enemy."

"You-" Yifan grabbed him by the collar, not even noticing he was slowly lifting the whole boy who started grinning.

"Finally."

Wondering what he was looking at, Yifan looked down his body. That was when he noticed the huge, brown, scaled wings in the corner of his eye. Terrified, he let go of Jinho, tumbling back. But wherever he turned, the wings stayed on his back, moving without his influence.

Jinho laughed at Yifan’s shocked face.

"Don't worry about it," he said, still laughing, "we can cure you of this as well."

Yifan didn't know what ultimately made him do it. Maybe it was the betrayal of his best friend he got so angry about, or maybe it was the mental picture of the Red Force examining him, a tortured, insane body chained to an operating table.

He grabbed Jinho for a second time, this time hauling him against the walls of the attic, hoping the impact might knock some sense into him and give him back his best friend.

He watched in terror as the wall crumbled into pieces due to the amount of force behind his movement. He heard Jinho scream in terror as he was falling.

Without hesitation, Yifan rushed forward and jumped off the house, right through the hole he had just caused. He tried to make his wings carry him to Jinho, who was screaming in terror, but his wings didn't listen to him.

Yifan closed his eyes, and then, right before they hit the ground, time seemed to stop.


	5. Chapter 5

Tao was crying silently in his room. He was sitting on the ground, his back against the wall and his arms wrapped around his knees and tried to shut out every single sound. It wasn't easy to ignore the shouting and continuous knocking on his door. He knew he would have to explain himself sooner or later, even though he didn't really know what to explain.

Hesitant, he stood up, wiping his tears and walking towards the door. The knocking had stopped. Zhu had probably gone back to the kitchen to talk to their parents.

When he showed up in the kitchen, his parents and his sister immediately fell silent. His mother tried to smile, but it came out a bit stiff. "Zitao, do us the favour and sit down," she begged. He did as he was told, trying to avoid his father's strict glare and his sister's sympathetic glances.

"Now," his father began, "care to explain yourself?"

"But I don't know what that was either!" Tao exclaimed, looking at his sister, silently begging for her support. She looked away.

"You made an apple rot when Mingzhu grabbed it before you, right in front of our eyes. It was red and bright in one moment, brown and foul in the other. How do you explain this?" His father just wouldn't understand that this hadn't been his fault.

"I would know if I could do something like that, don't you think so?" Tao retorted. "Why do you want to let me take the blame for this? It's just an apple!"

"Tao!" Zhu glared at him, not being able to believe the stupidity of her brother. "Everyone knows people like you exist, what do you think the Red Force is experimenting on the whole time?"

This got the boy to shut up. Dumbfounded, he leaned back in defeat, looking at his hands. "But how is this possible? I don't want to be able to do that."

His father leaned forward, nearly whispering right now. "Don't you see it?" he asked desperately. "It's a gift!"

"There are other people like you out there," his mother added. "If they worked together, they could help us! Hasn't there even been something like a legend of a prophecy about people with powers saving us-"

"I don't believe in prophecies," contradicted Tao.

"But you believe in ghosts," Mingzhu muttered under her breath. He ignored her.

"We can try to find other people with powers so he can train with them!" It seemed his parents didn't even care about his opinion in this case.

Tao stood up with clenched fists. "I will _not_ fight the Red Force along with some other weirdos and get all of us killed. You can't force me to do that."

"You will do whatever is necessary to learn how to control your power!" his father commanded. His eyes held a determination Tao had never known his father possessed and it scared him. It scared him how his family was so eager to give him away and let him fight an enemy that was way too strong with powers he didn't even know how to use. The Red Force would find out about it and kill all of them.

Feeling nauseous, Tao made a few steps backwards, then turned around and ran outside, ignoring the voices of his family telling him to stay.

He ran without looking back, until he reached the last house of the village and leaned against the wall, panting. He wished he could just turn back time again, erase this whole day from existence and go back to his calm life. He knew it would never be the same again.

Tao was contemplating on whether to run away or not when he heard loud voices from behind him. He checked the streets, but no one was there. When he heard the voices for a second time, he realized they were coming out of the house, seemingly from a higher level.

But Tao knew the house was abandoned. There could only be one answer to those voices.

The boy trembled. There couldn’t be any ghosts in this house, right? Hadn’t it only been a few months? He was ready to run away again when he heard a loud crumbling sound, followed by a terrified scream.

He looked up, only to see a guy falling, followed by another one with huge dark, scaled wings on his back. The one with the wings seemed to be trying to catch the other one, but his wings didn't seem to work the way he wanted.

Tao acted instinctively. He closed his eyes and made the time around the two of them flow slower. Their impact on the ground still must have hurt, seeing as the guy with the wings was nearly crying. The other one seemed to have hit his head as he was laughing heartily. He had noticed Tao and he had the feeling his words were directed towards both of them.

"See? You are destined to hurt your friends and family, it's your nature. These powers are a curse and only the Red Force can offer you the chance to get rid of them."

"Get rid of them?" the other boy repeated. Tao couldn't stop looking at him. He was really tall, had a handsome face and brown, dishevelled hair. He seemed to have noticed Tao as well, but didn't look at him. "The Red Force will put me inside a cage, torture me, and experiment on me until I become boring. Then they will search for their next victim. If you don't have anything else to say, leave. I don't want to see you ever again." He sounded so helpless and shaken that Tao had to resist the urge to run up to him and hug him.

The tall boy limped away, with his head down, leaving the other one behind. That one didn't look too sad, though. He laughed, then turned around and left the village.

Not quite able to understand the whole situation, Tao followed the tall guy, who had somehow managed to make his wings retreat.

"Thank you for earlier," muttered the boy, not looking up from the street. "If you hadn't stopped us, we would be dead." He seemed to remember something, stopped and turned around, looking at Tao properly for the first time. "How did you do it?"

Tao didn't know how often he had heard this question today, but something in the guy's voice made him answer truthfully. "I really don't know. I just discovered recently I can do things like this and it scares me, to be honest."

The guy nodded. "It should." He looked at Tao and stretched out his hand. "I'm Wu Yifan, by the way."

"Huang Zitao." Tao shook his hand and the boys walked silently side by side for a few moments. Suddenly, Tao had an idea. "Do you... uhm... do you maybe want to stop by at my house for a bit?"

Yifan looked at him, a bit stupefied. "You want to invite a stranger to your house?" he asked incredulously.

"We introduced ourselves, we're not strangers anymore," Tao corrected him. "Also, I hoped, you would talk to my parents..." His voice left him, and Tao felt guilty for even thinking of using Yifan like this shortly after what happened.

Yifan shot him a knowing look. "Just discovered it today as well, huh?"

"They want me to find other people like us to train fighting-" he started whispering, "- against the Red Force." Yifan nodded, not looking as opposed as Tao had hoped.

"But if you tell them how dangerous these powers are, maybe they will start thinking differently," Tao explained. "I don't want to do that; I just want everything to go back to how it was before!"

Yifan nodded sympathetically. "I will tell your parents what happened. But if they really think about this like you said, they might as well just be amazed by what these powers can do." At the end of his sentence, he looked back to the ground again, eyebrows furrowed.

They went on until they were standing in front of Tao's house. Tao hesitated. Had this really been a good idea? What if they still wanted him to this, even if he told them he didn't want to? He shook his head and opened the door.

"Mum, Dad?" he exclaimed, walking towards the kitchen. "I found someone like me and he can tell you how-"

Tao stopped midway in his sentence and stared through the opened door. He heard Yifan advancing behind him, his breath hitching as he saw why Tao had gone silent.

His mother and father were lying on the ground, lifelessly, puddles of blood around them. Behind them, as if they had wanted to protect her, in the corner, was Mingzhu, one hand next to a knife she must have grabbed to protect herself. Her eyes were wide open, but did not move. Someone seemed to stab him every time he looked at their expressions, trying to process what he was seeing.

"M- Mum?" he asked, his voice trembling just as much as his hand as he bent down. "Dad?"

He felt someone pulling at his hand and looked up with a dazed glance.

"Let's go," Yifan stated curtly.

Tao couldn't process what the other guy told him. His stare went back to his family, trying to understand...

Yifan pulled him up dragged him out of the house. He only let go of his wrist when they stood a few steps away from Tao's door.

"Did your parents tell anyone about your power?" the tall guy asked, staring Tao in the eyes.

Tao shook his head. It was only now that he realised what had happened. He sank to his knees and started sobbing. How could this have happened? He hadn't been away for more than one hour. Who would have done something like this? Why?

"Look," Yifan stated, crouching down in front of him. "This is a huge shock for you and I really don't want to urge you to do anything right now. But if someone heard them talking about your power, asked them where you are and killed them, they are now coming after you. Staying here will kill you, Tao."

"I don't care!" Tao's words were barely audible over his sobs. "It's my fault anyways. What am I supposed to do without them?"

"Come with me," Yifan proposed. For a short time, Tao stopped crying and looked at him.

"Where are you going?"

"I will go find people like us," Yifan told him softly. "Nothing is keeping me here anymore, and I think your parents were right."

At these words, Tao started crying again.

"Look," Yifan said for a second time. "You're not safe here anymore. I don't have anything worth to stay for. We should go and try to find people who know what this is, and how to cope with it. What you want to do with this power is your own choice, but you should learn how to use it as soon as possible."

He was obviously waiting for an answer, but Tao kept sobbing and looking at the ground. It was clear that the other one didn't want to make Tao leave his home. But leaving the boy in the knowledge that there was somebody after him was something he couldn't bring himself to do.

Tao couldn't think anymore. Every time he closed his eyes, the picture of his family in the kitchen haunted him. He didn't care whether the killer would get him or not, but Yifan's begging gaze made him realize he had already made his decision.

"I'll come with you," Tao murmured finally.


End file.
